Gracie Travers has a secret. She’s not the down-on-her-luck drifter she appears to be. Once America’s sweetheart, Gracie needs to keep below the paparazzi’s radar until she’s thirty. Then she’ll get her money and get off the street.

But one small mistake brings Deputy Sheriff Austin Trumball into her life. He’s attractive and oh-so-dangerous. If he learns who she really is, her anonymous days are over. Worse, Austin’s hard to resist, and their connection is terrifying. Soon he makes her want what she can’t have—a lover, a family and a home of her own.

No Ordinary Home is a sweet contemporary romance by Mary Sullivan. Although it is an angst-free read, that is not to say the characters do not have problems to overcome. These issues are handled quickly which adds to the story’s overall enjoyment.

No Ordinary Home opens with Deputy Sheriff Austin Trumball crossing paths with Gracie Travers as he and his friend Finn begin their much anticipated vacation. Against Finn’s strenuous objections, Austin takes Gracie under his wing and she hitches a ride with them to their next destination. There, they meet up with Finn’s childhood friend, Melody Chase, and everything is quickly complicated when she recognizes Gracie and threatens to write an exposé that will thrust Gracie back in the media spotlight she has spent the past six years avoiding.

The characters are well-developed and they all have their share of emotional baggage. Gracie is hardened by her years spent on the road but her edges begin to soften as she finally finds the courage to face the past she has been running from. Melody is trying to come to terms with new information about the reasons why she and her mother spent so many years evading the father she never knew. Finn is mostly well-adjusted but he has a few hang-ups that threaten to destroy his burgeoning romance with Melody. On the surface, Austin seems to have escaped his dysfunctional childhood, but as he and Melody try to plan for their future, his issues become apparent.

The main storyline focuses on Austin and Gracie while the secondary story arc features Finn and Melody. Finn and Melody’s portion of the story is resolved fairly quickly but Austin and Grace’s issues are a little more serious so it takes longer for them to work through their individual problems. There are a few tense moments between Melody and Gracie, but they take the time to work through their differences as well.

No Ordinary Home by Mary Sullivan is a heartwarming novel of love and friendship. The characters are facing real life problems that readers can relate to ans the characters are well-developed. While they might not be as easy to like in the beginning of the story, their personal growth helps turn them into well-rounded, likable individuals by the novel’s conclusion. All in all, No Ordinary Home is lovely, easy to read story that fans of contemporary romances are sure to enjoy.